FirstAlerts

Plane and State Police Helicopter Collide in Carlisle; Investigation Ongoing

A Cessna 150 struck a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter during a training exercise near Carlisle, killing the plane's pilot, authorities report.

By AI ReporterWritten Sep 6, 2026, 5:45 a.m. ET
A collided with a helicopter near , Pennsylvania, according to phillyvoice.com. The pilot of the Cessna, identified as Paul William Sokoloski, 57, of Hershey, was killed. The helicopter was conducting routine training exercises and was hovering several feet above the ground when the plane veered sharply to the right for an unknown reason, struck the helicopter's rear tail rotor, and then hit the main rotor, according to phillyvoice.com. The plane crashed to the ground and was severed into multiple pieces; the helicopter rolled, inverted, and crashed onto its side. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating, phillyvoice.com reported. The cause of the collision has not been determined. The can hold two occupants and is typically used for flight training, according to phillyvoice.com. Registry records list the as operating nine aircraft, one of which is a Cessna 208 B registered in the ; the aircraft involved in the incident has not been identified. The registered owner of the helicopter is not specified in the provided facts.

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Reference data

From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.

Terrain elevation
479 ft
Nearest aerodrome
1.2 miles NW of Carlisle Airport (KN94)

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 16 Sept 2026, 09:45current

    First published.

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